Designer Zandra Rhodes, who dressed Princess Diana, reveals the tragic family secret she discovered while writing her memoir

Zandra Rhodes, originally from Kent, learnt the truth about a dark family secret Dame Zandra Rhodes has spoken about a tragedy that blighted her childhood and her relationship with her father - and how that changed when the truth was revealed.

The 84-year-old designer, known by many for dressing Diana, Princess of Wales on occasion, as well as for her bold style - which includes bright pink hair, and often shaved eyebrows, has enjoyed an eventful life.

While many of these are positive - her impressive design portfolio, her memoir, and her prolific career she has also endured hard times.

Among them, she suffered from cancer of the bile duct, which was diagnosed in 2020. After being given just months to live, she kept the illness a secret, later explaining 'if people knew I wouldn't get any more work'.

Talking to the Guardian about writing her memoir, which was released earlier this year, Rhodes, originally from Medway in Kent, discussed how she'd had a tricky relationship with her father, Albert, in her youth.

Describing 'actually facing [her] past' as the most difficult part of scribing the tomb, Rhodes said she had never got on with her father, who she described as less 'classy' than her mother, adding that younger children are 'snobby'.

The lack of connection arose after Rhodes heard that her maternal grandmother had been a sex worker who'd been murdered by a client.

This dark tale cast a grim shadow over her childhood.

It was not until later - much later - recently, in fact, that Rhodes learnt the truth.

While no less shocking, it was a different tale. Her grandmother had, in fact, been murdered by a lover.

And the violent act was especially extreme: her father's mother was nearly decapitated by this man - who used a razor to carry out the crime, which he perpetrated in front of one of her young daughters.

After the tragic death of his mother, Albert was handed to the care of an alcoholic aunt and uncle.

Writing about her father for the memoir helped her find what the Guardian described as 'a new respect and fondness for him'.

Speaking in 2022 about growing up, Rhodes described herself as 'a child of the Medway towns'.

She told MailOnline: 'Our house was one of four right on top of Chatham Hill, and I lived there with my parents and younger sister Beverley until I went to the Royal College of Art in London in 1961.'

At the time, she described her father Albert as 'handsome', saying he 'looked like Errol Flynn'.

He worked as a lorry driver, while her mother, Beatrice, was a teacher at Medway College of Design

'She was an exceptional, exotic woman,' said Rhdes. 'Before the war she went to Paris and became a fitter in the famous fashion house of Worth.

'She came back when the war started, drove ambulances and made wedding dresses at home.

'If Beverley and I were good and didn't punch each other as we liked to do, we were allowed to watch her fit the dresses on the brides-to-be.'

Her mother, Rhodes said, was her 'inspiration' and 'always encouraged [her] to believe in [herself]'.

Sadly, tragedy was to strike, and Beatrice died of lung cancer while Rhodes was just 24-years-old.

Her mother died of lung cancer, before she was able to see her daughter's career flourish.

Rhode's has said of her mother: 'I still meet people today who say that, as a teacher, she was the most wonderful influence and led them to find jobs they loved.'

Another hardship endured by the designer was being diagnosed with cancer of the bile duct around 2020 - being given just months to live.

Speaking around a year later, in July 2021, about her health, Rhodes said: 'I feel pretty good. I've just galloped up two flights of stairs.'

After being just six months to live, her energy was extraordinary.

Early in the pandemic, the fashion and textile designer, a favourite of royals and rock stars since the 1960s, had just begun a yoga session in her flat with her best friend, artist Andrew Logan, when she realised something was amiss.

'We were lying there, on our little lilac mats, and my stomach felt full,' she recalls. 'I thought, "It can't be full — I haven't eaten anything'."

She went to her doctor and then for tests, which revealed a tumour. Three months of chemotherapy, then immunotherapy followed, all during that first bleak lockdown.

Speaking in July 2021, Rhodes said: 'Oh, I've been in remission for at least[...]I mean the specialist said it had gone away, so I presume I've got maybe two years.'

She explained that she'd undergone treatment, then doctors said she'd 'probably got at least two years', adding that the time 'gives me time to get myself together and get things done'.

The news didn't make her cry, she revealed, but she did say: 'I probably moaned to my sister [Beverley - her closest relative, and a mother of four, and grandmother of seven].'

Rhodes herself chose not to have children. Writing about this decision, she said: 'My sister has four children and is a wonderful mother[...]I am a successful fashion designer who has led a very different but fabulous life.'

Her embarked on a serious relationship with Salah Hassanein, former president of Warner Bros International Theatres, when she was in her 50s.

She says that looking back at the relationship, it is 'quite extraordinary' that this 'really straight businessman didn't notice I had pink hair'.

Rather, she explained, he enjoyed her company, and they had a 'lovely time' together, dividing their time between his US home and a London penthouse.

The walls of the penthouse are decorated with framed photos of Hassanein, who died in 2019 at the age of 98. In these pictures, the pair stand next to each other, smiling.

Rhodes still enjoys her trademark pink hair, and earlier this year wrote for YOU magazine about ageing and how that won't make her change her style.

She said: 'You can't stop ageing. Regardless of what you wear or what you inject your face with, growing older will happen. What we can control is how we feel about it and how we express ourselves.

'You're never too old for print, colour or change. I always go out fully made up – you won't catch me without my eyeshadow and lipstick – and I'll never shy away from the clothes I love because of a mad idea that I should become boring now I'm 83.

'Old age hasn't stopped me from wearing anything; it has just changed how I wear it.

'For example, I probably wouldn't wear a miniskirt with bare legs any more, but I would wear one over trousers. Glamour, adventure and style look great at every age.'

Speaking to the Guardian, she added that she doesn't really think about age, and has a best friend who is 91-years-old, and most of her friends are in their late 70s - and 'very youthful'.

However, she added, the majority of her team is young - with most under 30, about which she said it 'doesn't matter' that she is old enough to be their grandmother.

Despite sleeping in her make-up, and opting for pink hair (which she says keeps her youthful) Rhodes is firmly against any more invasive anti-ageing procedures.

She has previously said: 'Cosmetic surgery doesn't make you look younger; it just makes you look different. Having lived in America for decades, I watched the people around me change their faces with the aim of disguising their age.

'Accept your wrinkles, they're a part of the life you've lived. Be proud of them if you can, and if you're not proud then there are things you can do to mask them – I have a fringe that conceals the wrinkles on my forehead.

'I use extra make-up round my eyes and wear extra jewellery that distracts. There's no point fighting these things too much, though; there's only so much rearranging one can do.'

Speaking about getting older, and what it means, Rhodes believes: 'Age is about spirit.'